Lidia Bastianich's Rice and Potato Soup with Parmigiano Rind

These are the three best things about coming home from a business trip you would have gladly paid someone else to take in your stead:
1. Bumping quickly over potholes in a cab on your way back to Manhattan from JFK at sunset when you can see the skyline bathed in ethereal mauve light;
2. Seeing your very tall boyfriend walking up the street to meet you at a restaurant and running across the street to jump in his arms like a monkey on a tree;
3. Cooking your own dinner again.

In an attempt to purge the memories of drippy, triangled British sandwiches packaged in plastic, and to lighten the load of several multi-course meals in groovy London restaurants, I wanted nothing more than a simple soup and a plate of thinly sliced fennel dressed with lemon juice and olive oil for dinner. The soup I made, though, was so satisfying despite its simplicity that we never got around to the salad. Ben and I each slurped down a bowl and could eat no more. The light broth was filled with chunked potatoes that had been fried in olive oil, diced carrot and celery, and a scattering of rice. Bay leaf, cracked pepper, tomato paste and a generous slab of Parmigiano rind, saved dutifully in wax paper, flavored it all.

The recipe comes from Lidia Bastianich - cookbook writer, television chef, and restaurant owner - and was printed in the New York Times a few years ago. The whole thing takes less than an hour to make, but has bold and well-melded flavors that belie its quick preparation. Because my pot was almost overflowing, I used a little less broth than called for and it was fine. Today, the soup leftovers are sludgy and stewy, but just as delicious. I'll be finishing them up all weekend while I dance a jig and crow happily, "I'm home again! It's 65 degrees out! The sun is shining! I don't have to go on another transatlantic voyage for at least three and a half months!" Life is good.

Rice and Potato Soup with Parmigiano-Reggiano Rind
Serves 8

3 tablespoons olive oil
2 large baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/3-inch cubes
2 medium carrots, coarsely shredded
2 center celery stalks, diced
salt
2 teaspoons tomato paste
10 cups hot chicken broth
2 2-inch-squares Parmigiano rind, exterior scraped
2 fresh or dried bay leaves
freshly ground black pepper
1 cup long-grain rice 
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

1. In a deep, heavy 4- to 5-quart pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add potatoes and cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Potatoes will stick to pot; adjust heat to prevent stuck bits from becoming too dark. Stir in carrots and celery and cook, stirring, until carrots are softened, another 2 to 3 minutes. Season lightly with salt. Add tomato paste and stir to coat vegetables.

2. Add broth, Parmigiano rinds and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, scraping up bits of potato on bottom, then simmer. Season soup lightly with salt and pepper. Cover pot and cook until potatoes begin to fall apart, about 40 minutes. Stir in rice and cook until rice is tender but still firm, about 12 minutes. Remove bay leaves, stir in parsley, and check seasoning. Remove rinds and cut into small pieces. Eat them right away or put a piece in each soup bowl and ladle soup on top. Serve.

Comments

[Ilva]

This sounds just like my cup of soup! Coming up soon, very soon on my table..

[Julie]

What a beautifully written post! Welcome home.

I've been saving Parmigiano rinds in the freezer but without a specific recipe in mind. This sounds like a good candidate.

I've never used Parmigiano rinds before; can you explain about scraping the exterior?

[Lindy]

Glad to see you back.
This looks splendid-I am a fan of Lidia B., who has a restaurant here in Pittsburgh, in the excellent Strip District. It is such a nice place- festive and partyish, and entirely unpretentious.
A great place to go for celebrations- and the food is yummy.
I like a parm rind in some potato soup, too.

[Alizah]

Whaaaaaaat? [spoken a la Borat], rice and potatoes, filling?

[Molly]

Yaaaaay! She's back! And with a very tasty-sounding soup too...

[debbie]

Welcome back, Luisa! I tore this recipe out when it first appeared but never got around to trying it. Every so often I come across it in my binder and pause, but I always end up making something else instead. Now that I know how good it is...

[Luisa]

Ilva - yes, this is Italian comfort food at its best! Hope you like it.

Julie - thank you, thank you! It's so good to be back. Ha, as for the scraping, I didn't do a great job of it, but for what it's worth: I took a sharp knife and holding the rind in my hand, made the motions of peeling a carrot, pulling the knife against the rind towards myself, but with a much lighter touch, because your knife probably will only be able to scrape off a hairs-breadth worth of rind. Try to do this all over the rind, but don't go nuts because at the end of the day, there's nothing there that will kill you if you eat it.

Lindy - that restaurant sounds perfect, in terms of atmosphere and food.

Alizah - I know: whodathunkit?

Molly - Yippee!

Debbie - it's one of those staple recipes that's good to have around. It's not going to blow your socks off, but it will feed you and warm you and keep you comforted. Pretty great in and of itself.

[Tania]

This sounds delicious and truly comforting. I have a parmesan rind in my fridge that I've been loathe to throw away; perhaps now's the time to use it! Any idea how long a rind can hang out in a fridge before it needs to be used?

[Luisa]

Tania - quite some time, I believe. I mean, maybe a three year old piece is a bit old and stale, but Parmigiano doesn't really go bad, not if you're eating it up at a normal rate.

[ann]

anyone have any experience with saving rinds that have had decorative leaves pushed into them?
does the residual from the leaves pose any harm?
i know, its kinda silly, but well, i've got rinds in my freezer with (what i think) are hazel nut tree leaves stuck to them!

[Luisa]

Ann - I'm assuming those rinds aren't parmesan rinds...? As far as I know, you're safest saving only Parmigiano, first of all because the rind from that cheese is barely treated and is just very very very hard cheese, which softens and flavors deliciously. Other cheese rinds are washed with alcohol or other liquids, plastered with ash or leaves, in your case, and I'm just not sure they're up for being cooked.

[ann]

yeah, its aged peccorino.
good to know! i'm new to the cheese rind saving, since for the first time in two years i actually have a completely! defrosted freezer that holds more than one ice tray
yay!

[Uyen]

I saw Lidia make this on TV; when I went to search for it on the Internet, your site turned up. Thanks for the recipe! I just had a fresh bowl of it, and man, it hit the spot. So easy too, and I love that I now have some way to get rid of my Parmigiano rinds. :)

[Bedrina Ana]

Javljam se iz ureda Hrvatske Matice Iseljenika u Puli. Nemam Vaš mail pa Vas molim da mi se javite radi prijedloga za susret kad dođete u Pulu i radi suradnje. Imam nekih važnih informacija za Vas. Srdačno Vas pozdravljam i čestitam za sve uspjehe koje ste dosad postigli. Ana Bedrina